The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-06-04
ritten for The ArkdnsdW Trduefer.
 Big < Little Bill.

Big Bill X Little Bill were com bined in the forming of strong ev- idence that friendship, which is sup posed to be based upon judgment, is sometimes as capriciousa as love, which, it is declared, has for its foundation a almost a giant; Little Bill was almost dwarf. They first met at card table-or rather at card cotton bale on the Mississippi river-and. as they expressed it, hankered at once for each others society. They became so much attached to one another that they soon decided to settle down together, so, building themselves q cabin in Chicot county, Arkansaw, they be- gan the business of general merchants and dealers i'll plantation supplies" :" The very odditv of the firm was valuable advertisement, and it is well known that negroes rode at least ten miles, Saturday afternoons. to deal with the "long an short O it." The sign, which read as follows, Big Bill & Little Bill" conveyed the only intelligence that the community had ever received with regard to their names, but, as people who live in the Mississippi river bottoms are not curi- ous with regard to the affairs of other men, no one showed those symp- toms of uneasy concern which make life in hillside village the fit abode of Beelzebub Of course, some one would occasionally ask question something like this: Say, did you tellers lose your other names durin' the overflow ?" But about the near est to satisfactory reply that was ever rendered was the following an- swer, sometimes delivered by the giant and sometimes by the dwarf:
 "Yes you see the water rig on us so fast that we didn't have time to git out but a few nv our duds, and we lowed that it would be better to load the boat with the most necessary ar- tickles. We did think fur a mint ur two that it would be better to leave our dogs an finish loadin' with our names, but then, when we recollected what fine critters they was at treein' all sorts uv varmints, we udppcu oui itiilcS dIi Sutlclcu up the dogs"
 At night the two partners would sit in little cuddy-hole at the back end of the store. and, smoking cob pipes, would entertain each other un- til bedtime. Sometimes they sang songs of lively words but of most doleful tune, and sometimes they formed themselves into sort of legis- lature and made speeches on the con dition of the country.
 Ten years at feast were passed in this way, and not a difference of opin- ion sufficient to cause the slightest jar occurred between the partners. Some of their customers declared that such warm friendship must come to an end that such cheerful agreement was against human nature, but the slow drag of time brought no jar
 One day while the two Bills were sitting in their store. waiting for GUS toners, woman drove up on buck board and asked for drink of water: and, as rain began to fall at that very minute, she was invited into the store. She was rather good looking. with hous oidth tihii anu tiic sIdppN quail ity of black eyes so much admired by river-bottom people. She was not backward in speaking of herself.
 My name is Tildy Blake" said she and l have come here from East Ten nessee to teach school over near Fet- terson's sawmill, but I don't reckon there's much to be teached over there only readin,' writin' an 'rithmetic mebby, but it's no odds to me s'lona as get my money for it, for I am widow woman with nobody to SUD- port but myself, it is true, but per. son always likes to have plenty of thi, worlds goods, for as my husband used to say before he died, and do you know that have been thinkin' of him fol the last hour? for he popped into my head back wonder when razor- back hog jumped up from behind log and made off through the woods, for DO Dan was mighty partial to razor back hogs, Iowin' that their meat-if you ever got any on 'em-was sweeter than other meat, but it allus took power ful sight of con, but Dan--that was his name-allus had plenty and he jest nachully tuck to the razor- backs: and when he died he left three that eat me bodatiously out of house an home, an then was so haungry that they broke